


Herbal Liqueur and Frustrations

by wallflowermode



Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Developing Relationship, Drunkenness, Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-28 07:04:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20774510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wallflowermode/pseuds/wallflowermode
Summary: The last thing people would ever call Temari is weak or shy. She's far from it. No, she is strong, cunning and self-assured. Her, a kunoichi and royalty to the people of Suna, did not get flustered. And he does not cause her to become a puddle of nerves when he looks at her. Or when he talks to her. Or when heaven forbid, smiles at her.





	Herbal Liqueur and Frustrations

**Author's Note:**

> Writing prompt: "I want my kisses back from you. All the nights and dreams you stole from me too."
> 
> Smut in the last chapter. I will change the rating when the next chapter is up and add any additional tags.

The last thing people would ever call Temari is weak or shy. She's far from it. No, she is strong, cunning and self-assured. Her, a kunoichi and royalty to the people of Suna, did not get flustered. And he does not cause her to become a puddle of nerves when he looks at her. Or when he talks to her. Or when heaven forbid, _smiles_ at her.

"Another shot!" Ino shouts at her before signalling the bartender.

She's frustrated by him. So much that she didn't stop Ino from dragging her to a bar with rest of the Leaf ninjas. And Temari certainly didn't stop the other blonde from shoving another shot glass (_'shot #3'_, she counted to herself) into her hand. It was some kind of herbal concoction that seems to be a favourite amongst the others. She desperately downs it the moment it was handed to her.

"Woah, no one drinks like that unless they are trying to forget about something," Tenten says as she makes her way to the blondes with Hinata right behind her.

Temari makes a face at her empty cup. "Yeah, well," she trails off, shrugging lamely.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asks.

Ino laughs. "She's pining over her own boyfriend since we got here," she says, throwing a teasing smirk to Temari.

"Hey! That's-" Temari sputters. She pinches the bridge of her nose, lowering her head to hide a blush forming on her cheeks.

"Then what is it?" Tenten laughs. She and Hinata take the stools beside them.

"I don't wanna talk about." she waves the bartender with her empty glass. "Not until I have some more of this weird stuff."

"It's a liquor with a mixture of thyme, peppermint and a bunch of other herbs," Ino says. "And we weren't done talking about this. Which is totally about Shikamaru."

"What makes you think it's about him, huh?"

"You've been glancing at him this entire time. And you're as about as obvious as Hinata lately."

"Hey!" Both Hinata and Temari interjects.

The bartender slides her the herbal drink. She quickly takes the shot while Tenten and Ino share a look between them. They grab their drinks, smirking deviously to her.

Temari looks away from them, and her eyes wander around the bar. She figures out the place is popular amongst the local shinobis. Some even look like they just come back from missions only mere hours ago. Having given their reports to the Hokage, they make a beeline to this bar. It seems like this bar is comfortably filled each night. Her eyes finally make it to its inevitable destination. Shikamaru's leaning against the wall, listening to Naruto who's way into his own story. The shadow ninja is still wearing his vest.

She groans. "Why is he wearing that! He's not even trying!" Temari says out loud. She at least took the time and effort to go out tonight with what little she had packed for this trip to Konoha. She even had help from Ino, having borrowed a skirt more appropriate for nights out.

The girls turn their attention back to Temari, confused. The Suna woman curses loudly. She didn't even realize that she said her thoughts out loud. Ino smiles, mischievously at her, hands under her chin as she leans closer to Temari.

"So ready to talk?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" Tenten turns to Temari.

Temari groans again. She will not be able to escape this now. "It's… just…" she starts awkwardly.

"God, I can tell you grew up with boys!" Ino said, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Temari glares at the other blonde. She huffs as her annoyance to her situation grows stronger. A situation that she let happen if she's honest.

"Look, he annoys me. Right now, he just stands there! In the damn vest!" She hisses.

"You make no sense," Ino states, pushing another drink to Temari. This time, it was a pint of beer.

"I have a feeling that you're trying to get me drunk."

"Yeah, I was thinking that getting you at least tipsy will help me understand your… brashness," she said truthfully.

Temari takes a giant gulp of the cold drink while she flips Ino off.

"Why does he annoy you? did something happened between you guys?" Tenten asks genuine concern look etched on her face.

Temari waves off the worries quickly. "Nothing happened," she sighs. "I just… Ever since we started... Dating. He's been slightly different. More charming, I guess. And I'm so flustered around him, even alone. That's not me. Not us."

Ino scrunches her face. "Shikamaru. Charming. I don't see it."

"Yeah, I know. God, why am I acting like such a girl?" Temari groans, rubbing her face.

"Is there a problem with acting like a girl?" Hinata speaks up, and Temari feels guilty for almost forgetting about the Hyuuga. They turn their attention to her, which startle her a bit. She blushes. "I think fighting your feelings will only hinder you more. So what is wrong with him making you feel flustered when he smiles at you? Or how nervous you get when you know he's about to kiss you? Embrace each emotion. It just shows you how much you love him."

The rest of them stares at her, shock. She seems to realize what she said and squeak. Wide eye, she quickly adds, stuttering: "Oh, I mean, that's just how I feel."

Tenten shakes her head, in awe of Hinata. "Wow," she says. The brunette turns to Temari. "She does make excellent points, though."

Before anyone else could add to Hinata's speech or speak, Naruto comes barreling into their little circle. He throws his body on Hinata.

"My wife! Come! Dance with me!" He yells, pulling her up from her seat. His face was rosy, and he's swaying. Indicating he's, in fact, pretty drunk.

"She has a name, idiot!" Ino says, glaring at the hyperactive man.

"It's okay, Ino. He's been enjoying the titles we have for each other after the wedding," she blushes, smiling up brightly at her drunk husband.

And with that, Naruto decides that the conversation is over. He whisks her off to the middle of the bar.

Temari audibly breathes a sigh of relief when Ino decides to take her to leave, muttering about checking up on Sakura. Temari and her dilemma are finally forgotten. She drinks the last bit of her beer, now lost track of the numbers of alcohol she consumed.

Tenten pats her, comforting and laughing at her the same time. "You should slow down. Drinking to forget about your feelings is not the best way to go." She shakes her head, smiling. "Trust me," she adds.

Temari watches the weapon specialist hop off her stool, pulling her purse along with her.

"You're leaving?" Temari asks.

"Yeah, I can feel Neji trying to get my attention for the past hour," She laughs. "Besides, it looks like you're going to need to be alone with a certain someone."

Suna ninja follows the direction that Tenten was pointing towards. Their topic, Shikamaru is heading to them. Tenten waves good-bye, walking up to Neji, who's already by the exit.

"Hey," Shikamaru says, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Hi," she answers stiffly.  
  
He sighs. "Did I do something to make you mad at me?"

"No, why would you even think that?" She inwardly winces at her own tone of voice. It came out more accusatory than anything else.

Shikamaru catches it as well; eyebrows shot up. "Well, for starts, I can feel you sending me death threats from across the room."

She gets up from her seat, and it hits her. All of the alcohol that she had consumed. She wobbles a bit. She feels Shikamaru's hands press firmly on both of her arms, keeping her steady. She looks up and sees the concern in his eyes. She shoves his hands off her (albeit a little more aggressive than she meant it to be).

"I wasn't…" she hesitates, feeling incredibly guilty. Groaning out her exasperation, she quickly walks out of the bar. She does not want to talk about it here.

"Mari!" She hears him call after her.

She didn't want to go far. She turns the corner to the side alley of the place. Still feeling dizzy from the drinks (and other things), she slumps and leans against the wall. She shuts her eyes to stop the spinning.

The Sand kunoichi finally hears his footsteps approaching. "Would you not running away from me?" She shrugs, eyes still firmly shut. This causes him to let out an exasperated sigh. "Please," he whispers.

She glances up at him. And 'Oh, bad idea,' she thinks.

He's so close to her. Close enough to smell an unfamiliar scent on him. He never put anything on. So, he did make an effort. She feels her face become ablaze. She's a ball of embarrassment, and anger (To whom. She doesn't even know at this point anymore).

She moves away, shaking her head and hands at me. "No. Nope! No!" she shouts. "You! Don't get to do that!"

"What?"

"You. Being all," The blonde gestures at Shikamaru. "You."

He frowns, confused.

She pushes a finger, jabbing him hard on his shoulder. "I want my kisses back. All the nights and dreams you stole from me too."

A beat of silence, Temari notices that she's not as balanced on her own. She feels herself swaying. On the other hand, Shikamaru looks so sturdy and steady. She plops her head on the same shoulder she jabbed, using him as an anchor. She wraps her arms around his chest, lazily.

"You smell nice," she mumbles into his damn green vest.

He mumbles, and Temari is so sure she, even in her drunken state, hears him say "what a drag" under his breath. When she moved away, she notices his face reddens as he looks away from her.

"Okay, let's get out of here," he finally speaks up. He tries to pull the blonde with him, but she stays rooted where she stands.

"No! Where do you want me to go with you?" she demands, her face hot as millions of things run in her mind. She pulls away from him.

"My place. It's getting la-"

"What! No!" She cuts him off. "I'm not ready."

"Not ready?" The realization hits him. "Oh no, we're not going through this again. I just meant it's getting late and you can crash at my place. It's not far from here."

She eyes him suspiciously but nods. She almost trips on her feet. Shikamaru grabs her before she could lose her balance entirely.

"Sorry," she says, grabbing hold of his arm and finally letting him lead them away.

They pass the front of the bar where they see Hinata and Naruto. Naruto, looking drunker than she feels, seems like he was just being scowled at. He laughs nervously at Hinata who has her hands on her hips. However, he perks right up when he noticed them. He grins wildly at Shikamaru.

"Oi!! Hell yeah, Shikamaru, get it!"

"Naruto, don't," Shikamaru warns darkly.

Temari looks away, biting her lips nervously. She tightens her grip on his arm as a way to tell him her desire to leave.  
  
"Naruto," Hinata says quietly. For someone so much shorter, she's able to stare coolly down at him, causing him to shut up immediately. She turns to them, bowing.

"My apologies for his behaviour."

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize for your husband," Shikamaru said with a polite smile.

Hinata smiles in gratitude at him before pulling Naruto to the direction of their house while Shikamaru leads Temari down the quiet street. As he promised, after a very short walk, they arrive at the entrance of the Nara compound.

"You know, you can say that you live with your mom. You don't have to lie to me." Temari smirks, couldn't help but tease him a bit.

"Why do you always pick a fight with me?" he asks, smiling slightly, making it known that he's joking too. "My mom lives on the other side of the Nara forest," He unlocks the door, gesturing her in.

She takes her shoes off ungracefully before stumbling into the house. She looks around curiously. "This isn't your house. It's a lot smaller," she remarks.

"Yeah, it's a guest house. The family house is currently locked and getting repaired," he brings them to the small living space. "It's… too big for me," he adds hesitantly.

"Oh, right," she nods. She turns to him as he's shrugging off the offending vest. He's now in just his undershirt. Her throat goes dry. "Right," she says once more.

Shikamaru coughs, shifts from one foot to the other. "Um, well, there's the bathroom if you need to get comfortable."

"Ah, I don't have any change of clothes with me."

"Oh, that's… true," he rubs the back of his head. "I can lend you something," he suggests.

This doesn't help her. She needs to calm down before she most definitely will regret in the morning. She nods, and with that, Shikamaru makes his way to the last door at the end of the small corridor. She looks around the place.

She did visit him a few times at the compound at his family's home, but that was before the war. This new place looks and feels more bare, empty. She sits awkwardly on the couch, glancing around the barren living room and kitchen. No pictures of his family. Nothing up on the walls. The furniture is dull and boring. She notices piles of papers and files on the dining table, several hair ties on the coffee table in front of her. And a long-forgotten cup of coffee on the countertops.

'Is his bedroom just like this?' she wonders a bit but quickly pushes those thoughts away. She hears a creak of a door, followed by the sound of him approaching her.

She says a quick 'thank you' before ducking into the bathroom he pointed out earlier. After locking the door behind her, she strips away from the constricting outfit. She pauses, holding up a worn t-shirt that seen one too many washes. Her mind wanders if she ever saw him in a t-shirt. She covers her face with it to hide from her own blushing reflection in the bathroom's mirror but doesn't help when her senses are filled with the unique, clean smell of Shikamaru. She dresses quickly, ignoring the twist of the excitement of her stomach. She pulls her hair out of its pigtails, messaging her scalp.

When she deems her appearance acceptable, she enters back into the living. Shikamaru glances up from the couch, the files she saw earlier in his hands.

"You okay?" he asks.

She only nods, plopping down next to him. She brings her knees to her chest and lets her chin rest on them. He goes back to reading, and she finally allows herself to look at him without being in their friend's (almost predatorial) gazes. Just the two of them. She watches the deep creases between his eyebrows, his cheeks redden slightly (probably due to her staring). Her eyes continue to trail down his features. She catches the sight of his free hand laying on the couch.

She claps her hands around his. "I'm sorry," she says, her voice muffled from covering her mouth with her knees. She continues to look down at their interlocked hands. He squeezes her in comfort.

"It's fine. I'm just unsure why you're like this. I would like to know though," Shikamaru says.

She takes a deep breath. She musters up her courage. "Yeah, I'm not mad at you," she begins. "I'm just not used to this. To us being this way. I feel so nervous around you around, and well, ah, I guess that's because," she stares into his dark eyes. "It scares me how much I want you and need you," she confesses, voice quiet most people wouldn't have heard it. Shikamaru's not most people. The heavy feeling in her chest lifts off. Although she's extremely embarrassed by her proclamation, she also feels a strong sense of relief washing over her.

Temari could barely breathe; the air suddenly turns heavy and hot between them. She watches his eyes, knowing that he's thinking of his next move. Soon, he shifts closer, slowly and deliberately. The distance becomes shorter, and she feels nervous again. Her eyes drop down, hiding from his heated look. However, he doesn't let her this time around, holds her chin and lifts it back up.

"I really want to kiss you," he says, shamelessly staring at her lips.

"Please," she begs, also gazing at his under hooded eyes.

Shikamaru presses his lips against hers hard and desperate without another moment of delay. Her face between his hands, he moves closer into her space. She grabs hold of his shirt as he coaxes her mouth open with his tongue. She lets out a strangled moan at the intrusion. He continues his onslaught, moving his mouth away from her now sore lips to her jaw. Unable to stop herself, Temari moans out his name, feeling his open-mouthed and wet kisses on her neck. She's dizzy again as his warm hands slowly trailing down to her waist before holding her down on the couch.

Shikamaru lifts his body and head, and she holds back a disappointing whimper. It dies out in her throat as soon as her eyes regain its focus to see a very red and panting Shikamaru above her. His lips swollen and pink and his full-blown eyes gazing down at her hungrily. She squirms under his attention; however, this time, in anticipation.

"You should get some sleep," he says reluctantly.

"I don't want to," she whines, wiggles her hips causing the Leaf shinobi to groan.

"You're so much trouble," he says. He places a quick peck on Temari's lips before moving away from her and standing up from the couch. He extends a hand to her.

She pouts but grabs the hand who helps her up. He leads her down the corridor.

"You can have the bed tonight," he says, opening the door of the bedroom. The room was clean, a shogi board on a table by the sliding door. His bed looked untouched, still made. He had also placed a small family picture on the top of his dresser.

She steps into the room but notices he didn't follow her. He stands awkwardly by the threshold of his bedroom, seeming unsure of what he should do.

"Where are you going to sleep?" she asks.

"I still have to go through some paper. I'll probably just fall asleep on the couch," he says.

"Shikamaru…" She begins.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it," Shikamaru shifts about to make his way back to the living room. "I'll be in the next room if you need anything."

"Wait," she says, and he stops. She places a hand on his cheek. "Thank you," she says before placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight, 'Mari," he returns the kiss before retreating out of the room and closing the door behind him.

She moves towards the bed, smiling when she notices a glass of water and some pills on the bedside table. Despite how excited and fluttery she feels, her eyes grow heavy as soon as her head hit the plush pillow.

**Author's Note:**

> Naruto was the first fandom that got me into fanfictions!! and that was almost 10 years ago. Also, the last time I wrote a Naruto fanfic was about oh, 7 years ago. So hi, it's great to be back!
> 
> shoutout to netflix, I wouldn't have written this if it wasn't for them putting Shippuden.
> 
> my tumblr: https://moonlightyluna.tumblr.com/


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